Episode 9 - Space
by SnowWhiteandDopey
Summary: Jaime is asked to join the training for civilian space shuttle astronauts. Things at home are not going well and space is needed due to the continued threat by Lane.


"No, I won't do it! I'm supposed to start college in three weeks." Jaime protested to Russ.

With a heavy sigh, Russ replied, "I know. This will only be for two weeks. Jaime, it's very important. Can you imagine what a political and public relations disaster it would be if something happened to one of the astronaut candidates especially a female one. You are the best agent for this."

"But Russ, I don't know anything about the space program except what I heard from Steve. I'm not in the Air Force, I don't fly planes and I'm not an engineer. I can't fake that."

"Jaime, the whole idea of this training camp is to explore the idea of civilians going into space. You don't even have to go undercover. You can go as Jaime Sommers, school teacher. We just need someone from the OSI to do some security."

Jaime opened her mouth to say something but Russ cut her off. He was frustrated at Jaime's continuous fighting against every mission he gave her.

In a heated voice, Russ replied, "I know what you're going to say, 'They don't need a BIONIC security agent'. There is a credible threat against this program. We need you. Listen, the other women will be from various civilian professions, including teaching. You'll fit in perfectly. You haven't had this kind of training before so you won't stand out."

A thought crossed Jaime's mind, "Did Oscar put you up to this? Is he trying to get me out of the way?"

"No. He doesn't know about this meeting. Oscar is just as keen for you to attend college as you are. In fact, I'm sure he'll be annoyed that I asked you."

Jaime felt embarrassed for accusing Oscar but after finding out about James Lane trying to kidnap him, things, well, have been strained. Oscar was jumpy and he was much easier to anger. He was unnaturally concerned when he was unable to reach Jaime. As much as she understood, it was becoming an irritation. She was beginning to feel hemmed in.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it but I want it understood that I will not miss any classes. Mission over or not, I'm attending college."

"Agreed but I'm sure you'll be finished and home days before classes start."

"You're going where, to do what?" Oscar asked when Jaime stopped by his office to try to pull him away for lunch.

Inside Jaime was relieved that Russ was right about Oscar's reaction. It further confirmed that he had no part in the decision. "He promises I'll be back before classes. I'm not wild about the assignment but I think it would be good for me to go." Jaime thought maybe some space might be good for her and Oscar.

"So," Oscar replied a little defensively, "I'm driving you nuts and you want to get away."

Jaime knew the argument needed to happen but she hated the idea. "Well, yes, you are driving me crazy. You're angry all the time, you don't seem to want me out of your sight and when I am, you're like some crazed maniac ready to send the Marines to find me."

"You do recall that a whole group of crazed maniacs have made me a target and would not think twice about killing anyone to get to me. Forgive me for loving you and wanting to keep you safe." Oscar sarcastically shot back at Jaime.

"I do remember and I know you love me and want to keep me safe. I love you and want to keep you safe but we're each going crazy and driving each other crazy at the same time waiting for something to happen."

"So, you're taking a dangerous mission to get away from me. That's just great."

Jaime could see his face flush and had a mental image of a blood pressure gauge spinning out of control. She took a deep breath before she continued. "Oscar, please sit with me."

It took what seemed like minutes before he stiffly sat on the couch next to her but staring at his feet.

"I'm not 'getting away from you'. We're both under a lot of stress because of the situation with Lane. I'm also tired of waiting around for classes to start. I need to do something productive. I wasn't wild about the mission at first but now...I think it would channel my energies. I've lost my center, my focus." Jaime looked at his face the entire time she spoke just waiting for him to look at her. When he did look at her, his eyes were all misty.

"I…know. I'm sorry. Part of me can't deal with being without you but part of me is glad you're going. At least you'll be safe." Oscar took her in a bone crushing hug. He was so afraid of losing her. "We've got to get out of this life. No more missions, no more threats." He pulled back to put their foreheads together. "I want us both out."

Two days later Jaime found herself at the Cape in Florida. She was settled into a dorm room of four other women. Beth was in the Air Force, Michelle was a middle school teacher from Maine, Kathy was a lab technician for an electronics firm and Nina was a science major at the University of Florida. At dinner they met five men who were also taking the training. There was Harry the civilian pilot who fancied himself the next Chuck Yeager, Mike was a high school science teacher, John who was a Navy pilot and Eric from the Air Force.

After dinner was orientation. Major Michael Parker was in charge of the program. "Here is our task list for the next two weeks. It is an intense program to see if civilians might be readied to go into space. The new orbiter will be able to carry up to seven people. We envision numerous possibilities for advances in science, technology and medicine that will all come from the space program. There will no doubt be another space station to replace Skylab sometime in the future. You, ladies and gentlemen, will be the pioneers for your children and grandchildren who may live in space someday."

When she returned to her room, Jaime felt that old familiar adrenaline rush from being on a mission. For once it felt good. The schedule was full of lots of exercise – mental and physical. It would help take her mind off the danger Oscar was in. Much to her chagrin, they only allowed two phone calls home – one that first day and one the following week.

"Hi Babe, how was the flight?" Oscar was relieved and happy to hear her voice.

"Great. You won't believe this place. We've got non-stop activities starting at 6AM tomorrow. They said it would be intense training – oh boy, is that the truth." Jaime added with a chuckle.

Oscar was so happy to hear from her that he was smiling from ear-to-ear. "You'll do fine."

Jaime finally had to hang up, with a lot of regret, after another 15 minutes. Absence did make the heart fonder as she and Oscar spoke with nothing but love and affection. Before becoming a couple they had spoken on the phone every day, so not hearing from him for a whole week would be difficult.

Day one of Jaime's astronaut training started just after breakfast. There was classroom work discussing the shuttle obiter and all the functions that were envisioned for it. The day continued with a 5 mile run – _it's a good thing I'm bionic,_ Jaime thought to herself. After the warm-up run, there was an obstacle course that was more involved than the one she had trained on during her undercover time in the police force. All this was followed up with more classroom time talking about take-off procedures. A short lunch was followed by instructions on space flight and weightlessness. The group was introduced to the machines that would simulate as best as possible what it was like in space. They were given a demonstration but they wouldn't use them for a few days. There was another 2 mile run followed by a cardio workout in the gym before dinner. The day wasn't over because they had work to prepare for the classroom discussions the next day.

Jaime was exhausted but had forgotten at least for a few hours the stress and helplessness that had enveloped her since the cruise. She was so busy that Jaime almost forgot she was on a mission until her ear caught an odd sound. She wasn't sure where it came from but decided to take a look around. Jaime walked out into the hall which seemed quiet. She checked some doors but as they all seemed locked, she moved on. There were no more sounds and everything looked normal. _I hate giving up but there's nothing to investigate right now._ Jaime wondered if she was just jumpy but she had an eerie feeling that something was up.

Day two started with another long run then training in the gym. Kathy was just starting to use the bench press weight machine when something snapped. Nina was on hand to give assistance before Kathy was seriously injured. Jaime quickly went to the scene to quietly have a look at the equipment. "Are you alright?" Jaime asked.

"Thanks to Nina. It was like something slipped." Kathy breathlessly told her.

Jaime wanted to have some private time to look at the equipment but now was not the time. _That was no accident. _Jaime now knew this would not be a routine mission and she became even more alert to further dangers. She needed to find out who had access to the machine.

The training session was followed by classroom training. It was lunchtime before Jaime had a chance to inspect the gym equipment. As far as she knew no one at NASA was aware that she was from the OSI and on a security mission. Jaime had to be careful not to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and be accused of damaging the machine.

Quickly Jaime went into the gym. The machine had yellow tape around it to keep people from using it. With a trained eye, Jaime looked at where the break had occurred. A cable was broken. She was careful to touch the cable with her bionic hand as it wouldn't leave finger prints. The break had a jagged edge but to her it looked like it was deliberately cut to make the cable look like it had just broken. _Now it's time to look for suspects._

When Jaime returned to the lunch room, she took a good look at her fellow astronaut candidates. None of them acted suspicious so Jaime decided to try to flush out the bad apple. Up to this time she had avoided revealing too much of her private life, especially who her fiancé was. Now Jaime thought the information could be used to her advantage.

Michelle, Beth and Harry were sitting at one table while Mike, John and Eric were at another. Nina and Kathy were finished with lunch so they were gone. Jaime decided to sit with the first group as it would look more natural. She arrived to hear Harry bragging about some daredevil flight he'd taken. Beth looked politely bored but Michelle seemed interested.

"…I swooped down to buzz the treetops then did a loop before landing at full throttle. The crowd was going nuts. It was a spectacular landing, even by my standards." Harry had a smug look on his face.

"That's so exciting. One of the reasons I joined this program was to get away from the run-of-the-mill boring life I lead. What about you Jaime? I can't imagine Ojai being any more exciting than Bangor for a middle school teacher?" Michelle asked.

"Well, Ojai is a quiet place. But my life will soon be in Washington." Jaime paused to make sure she had their attention.

"Why?" Beth finally asked.

"My fiancé lives in Washington. I really miss him." All eyes were on her, include some at nearby tables. Jaime was talking in a voice louder than she might normally use.

Harry, _bless him, _asked the question she was waiting for, "What does he do in Washington?"

"Oh, Oscar is the director of the OSI." As she scanned the immediate area only two people seemed to reach – John and a nearby Captain that Jaime did not know.

"What is the OSI? Are we supposed to know what that is?" Michelle asked in a superior tone.

"Office of Scientific Intelligence. They do all kinds of intelligence work. Oscar doesn't really talk about it much at home as a lot of it is classified." Jaime let this sink in before moving on to another subject. _John is a Navy man. Who is that Captain? What do they know about the OSI? At least I have some people to investigate._

The afternoon was spent in, what Jaime considered, bewildering physics classroom work. There was another two mile run followed by navigating the obstacle course. The team was a little apprehensive when they had their first flight in the modified jet that would produce a few seconds of weightlessness. The reason for their apprehension was that the nickname of the jet was "the vomit comet".

Jaime experienced a wave of nausea but thankfully no one actually threw up. The feeling of weightlessness was incredible. She wondered how her bionics would react but nothing seemed to be different for her than anyone else. Everyone laughed and had a great time floating around, doing rolls and somersaults. The twenty seconds of microgravity went by too quickly. Like all of her other teammates, Jaime was looking forward to the next opportunity to do it again. In her mind she was recounting the experience to Oscar. She could hear his excitement in her mind. Jaime found herself feeling so much love for him that she started to tear up.

Dinner conversation centered on the microgravity experience. The "accident" in the gym was long forgotten by all. Tomorrow they were to complete military water survival courses before they were allowed to become scuba qualified. All this water training was necessary for using the underwater training facility. Jaime was an expert scuba diver so she wasn't expecting to be troubled by it all.

Jaime paid special attention to John's conversations and who he spoke with. He and Eric seemed to have paired up as they were both pilots. Civilian, big headed Harry didn't seem to fit in with them besides he preferred the ladies. Their conversations centered on technical talk about flying. Jaime had found out from one of the trainers that the mystery Captain was George Bell. Jaime didn't see him at dinner so couldn't investigate him further.

Day three found the group learning more about astronomy. Jaime had always liked the stars but not in this sort of depth. At least she could tell she wasn't the only one. All this was way beyond her middle school curriculum. Her brain had a rest while they met at the pool.

Maj. Parker addressed all of them at once. "Listen up. All of you are required to pass this swimming test. You must swim three lengths of the pool in a flight suit and tennis shoes. You have a choice of using the following strokes: freestyle, breast or sidestroke. There is no time limit but we need to finish in a reasonable time."

"How far are the lengths?" Kathy asked as she surveyed the pool.

"Twenty-five meters. Then you must all tread water for ten minutes. Who's first?"

As expected, Harry volunteered. He strode up to the edge then on "Go" he jumped in. With a great deal of ease Harry swam the required lengths then was able to tread water like a pro.

Harry was followed by Michelle, Mike, Eric and Kathy. Jaime was up next. She hoped the water wasn't too cold as she jumped in. Much to her relief it was a heated pool. She wasn't a quarter the way down the pool when she felt water in the legs of her suit. For some strange reason, the water came in quicker than she thought possible. The extra weight made swimming difficult but Jaime was able to use the strength of her bionics to help her get to the side.

"What's wrong?" Major Parker asked as he came to the edge of the pool.

"There's water in my suit. It was dragging me down." It didn't escape Jaime that a person without the aid of bionic strength would have been in a lot of trouble.

"We need to get that suit inspected right away. Cummins, help Jaime remove the suit then take to the lab. I want it looked at immediately. Jaime, would you like to continue the test now with another suit?"

Jaime realized that her legs were not responding as they should._ Rudy has got to fix this. _Jaime was annoyed at the reaction of her legs to the cold. "I'll have to dry off and get warmed up first."

While Jaime was waiting until the rest of the group finished their test, Jaime wondered what her next move should be. NASA was right to go to the OSI for assistance as it was certain in her mind that there was a threat to the program. _Being waterlogged was no accident. _Jaime decided that she needed Russ to do some background checks.

After passing her water survival test, Jaime went to a very quiet place to use the radio she'd hidden in her luggage. "Bashful, this is Dopey. Are you there?"

A few seconds later, "Dopey, what do you have for me?"

Jaime recounted the two incidents to Russ. "Russ, I need you to check out some people. Lt. John Williams is a Navy pilot and one of the trainees. Capt. George Bell works here at NASA and Maj. Michael Parker."

"Okay. I'll get on it."

"How is Snow White?"

"He's fine but he misses you."

"I miss him too. Give him my love, Dopey out." Jaime put her radio back in its hiding place. According to her schedule, there was a class to attend then another ride in the "vomit comet".

While Jaime was attending astronomy class, Capt. Bell was excitedly talking to a superior officer. "HE is going to want to know this. It all fits."

"Sit tight. I'll call you back in five minutes."

Bell was not in his office but in one far from other ears. Hate burned in him for the people who had killed his friends, especially Hugh Fisher. Bell jumped when the phone rang. "Bell."

"Capt. Bell, tell me the whole story. Leave nothing out."

A chill ran down Bell's spine as he recognized the voice of James Lane. "Jaime Sommers is a trainee. Her fiancé is Oscar Goldman of the OSI. Although she claims to be a school teacher, I believe she could be an agent."

"Describe her."

"Tall – 5'10", thin, long blond hair, green eyes."

Lane thought for a moment. There was a woman on the island. It was impossible to completely identify her but she was tall, thin and upon her escape in the boat it was revealed that she had long hair. "Bell, bring her to me. I would also like some of the other trainees." With that he hung up. Bell thought for a moment then realized an opportunity was at hand.

All the trainees were assembled for their ride. Everyone looked forward to another chance to be weightless even if it only lasted half a minute. Captain Bell walked towards the aircraft. "Lt. Carson, I am joining the flight as co-pilot. I need to get some hours in. You may stand down."

"Yes, Captain. Enjoy the flight." Lt. Carson responded. He was a little puzzled as Bell had never worked one of these flights.

The trainees boarded the plane and strapped themselves in. Bell made sure that Jaime Sommers did not see him get on the plane. As he entered the cockpit, he locked the door. The pilot, Captain Parker Martin, knew Bell but was surprised to see him on the flight deck. "Bell, what are you doing here?"

"Good afternoon, Martin. I'm here to observe the trainees and assess their progress."

The plane climbed to the height needed for the microgravity event to happen. Just as the pilot made the adjustments needed, Bell punched him hard in the jaw. Martin hit his head against the bulkhead and slumped in his seat. Bell immediately took the controls then pulled out of the microgravity. He turned the plane towards the rendezvous 55 miles away with Lane.

Jaime and the other trainees didn't have time to register that they had spent very little time in microgravity before the plane lurched. It was John who realized, "We're going in the wrong direction. The base is to the east but we're going…south."

The other trainees started looking out the windows to get their bearings while Jaime's mind came to the conclusion that they were in trouble. "We've got to talk to the pilot." Jaime headed to the cockpit door but it was locked. "Captain Martin, what's going on? Open the door." There were few sounds coming from the cockpit which was strange as there were to have been two people in there.

A voice came over the speaker, "Sit down and put on your seatbelts. We will be landing in minutes."

Jaime was joined at the door by John and Eric.

"Who was that?" Eric asked.

"It wasn't Martin that's for sure." John replied then started pounding on the door, "Identify yourself."

Bell performed a few jerky wheel turns in the effort to put the trainees off balance. Because of this action Jaime knew that hostiles had taken over the plane. "The plane has been hijacked. We've got to get in there. John, Eric, find something to attack whoever is inside."

"Harry, join us. We'll take care of whoever's in there. You need to fly the plane. We have to move now. On three – one, two, THREE."

The men rammed their shoulders into the door while Jaime turned the knob to break the lock. Bell had his pistol out but before he could get off a shot, he was rushed by John and Eric. The wheel was being turned and pushed down during the struggle. "HARRY!" Jaime screamed.

Harry pushed his way in the cockpit, grabbed the wheel and pulled. They were low enough to see the runway ahead. There were what looked like trucks and numerous soldiers.

"Who are they?" Harry asked as he gained control of the plane.

Before anyone could answer, a bullet shattered the side window and they could hear the fuselage being hit by other bullets.

"Get us outta here!" John bellowed.

Harry turned the plane sharply and in the process threw everyone off balance. Bell almost got out of Eric's grip but he was held in place by Jaime. It didn't take long before the plane was out of range for the bullets. Once everything calmed down, John radioed the base. He told them what had happened plus gave them coordinates of the men that had shot at the plane. Within minutes a warning light came on.

"Great. We're losing power. A bullet must have hit the hydraulic line."

"We'll have to glide in if the power goes. Just consider it training for flying the big brick."

"On the job training, eh. Okay, John, you take the co-pilot seat, the rest of you get strapped in."

Jaime's heart was pounding as she felt the landing gear go down. Seconds later the engines cut out.

In the cockpit, John remarked to Harry, "Putting the gear down took everything she had. There's the runway. We're coming in too fast."

"Like you said, just like the big brick. This is going to have to be just right."

John was on the radio talking to the ground. "We're going to glide in."

The air traffic controller responded, "At 500 feet pull the nose up 10 degrees - that will slow the bird."

Harry and John watched the instruments. At the recommended height Harry pulled the nose up. "We're still really fast." In the split seconds before they would touch down, Harry pulled the nose up another 5 degrees. A little speed was taken off from the maneuver. The back wheels went on the runway.

John worked the flaps to allow them to help slow the plane. "We're going to run out of runway."

"We'll make it." Harry confidently responded.

Just feet from the end of the runway the plane slowed to a stop. With sweaty palms John and Harry exchanged a high five. Jaime and the other trainees let out held breaths. Their wild ride was over. Military police met the plane and took Captain Bell off their hands.

"Miss Sommers, please come with me." Major Parker escorted Jaime to a waiting jeep.

"I had a call from Mark Russell of the OSI. He wants to talk to you. I also want to discuss with you what happened today."

"Well Major, I'm not sure all the details but I'm sure Russ has information that would interest both of us."

When Russ was gotten on the phone, he was not alone. "JAIME, are you alright? What happened?" Oscar Goldman was relieved that Jaime was on the phone. Russ had filled him in with what was happening in Florida.

"Yes, Oscar, I'm alright but am I glad to hear your voice."

"Babe, what happened?"

Jaime filled Oscar, Russ and the Major in on the flight, the takeover by Bell of the plane and of the trainees taking control back.

Russ filled Jaime and the Major in on Bell. "George Bell was in training with Hugh Fisher. They became good friends and it appears that Fisher introduced Bell to his leader…James Lane. We believe that Fisher was killed in the raid on Lane's island headquarters. It appears that Bell has joined with Lane."

"We believe that Bell was helping Lane disrupt the astronaut training program from the inside." Oscar continued. "We don't think there was any other motive but we'll know more once Bell is interrogated.

On her way back to Washington Jaime reflected on the last few weeks. Her time away from Oscar had made her more determined than ever to marry him. She was also more determined to get out of the OSI. Jaime knew that Oscar was being protected. She didn't want to feel like his bodyguard all the time. She was going to be his wife, not his protector.

Oscar met Jaime at the airport. She practically jumped in his arms as soon as she saw him. They held each other tight only breaking away to kiss. "Jaime, I love you. You can't believe how much I missed you", Oscar breathlessly told her.

"I love you and missed you too. Oscar, I want to get married – soon. Let's set the date."

Oscar thought for a moment. In the next three weeks he and Bill Parr would be deep in meetings. "How about six weeks from today? Can you be ready then?"

"Absolutely. Let's go home."


End file.
